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Encouraging Bible Verses: Week 1, Proverbs 3:5-6

In the tough times in life, I’ve found strength in God’s promises in the Bible. For the next ten weeks I’m going to share one verse each week, along with it’s meaning and history. It is important to know the context in which these words were written so we don’t misunderstand.

This first verse has been my favorite since high school when I first became a believer. It was the first verse I memorized and I’m grateful to have it in my heart when times have been hard.

Trust in the Lord with all your heartAnd do not lean on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge Him,And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB

What does this mean? Well, Proverbs is a book of the Bible that shares practical wisdom with us. It is written mostly from the perspective of a father giving his son advice, but we call all benefit from its words of wisdom.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart– Give everything you have to the Lord, holding absolutely nothing back. This includes our marriages, our children, our jobs, our everyday circumstances. The opposite of this would be trust something else, yourself or your money for instance. Maybe you only give God some things, but hold on to others because you think you might know best in that area. No matter what, God asks us to trust him completely.

And do not lean on your own understanding– I like to know everything. Some of us have a desperate desire to know it all. (Find yourself Googling everything?:)) God asks us to acknowledge that His ways are best for us even when we don’t understand them. I’ve learned to trust Him at times when I don’t understand. I believe that God sees the whole picture while I am only seeing a tiny fraction of it. I can admit that I don’t know everything, and that is such a freeing feeling!

In all your ways acknowledge him– None of what we do can be attributed to our own doing. God’s hand is in everything. To acknowledge him makes me think I should live my life as if I know that he is always there, knowing that he is arranging every detail of my life.

And He will make your paths straight– This is really goes along with the previous section. IF we acknowledge him, THEN he will make our paths straight. The proverb suggests that if we know God, trust that it is HE who is in control of our lives, and live accordingly, God will direct our lives as he sees fit. That’s another freeing feeling to me. It means I don’t have to worry about orchestrating my life because that’s God’s job, not mine.

So whether it’s the death of a loved one, a cancer diagnosis, a miscarriage, or loss of a job, these words can be of encouragement to you. In a time when one might want to turn away from God because of pain or sorrow or anger, or because we don’t understand, that’s when we should trust and seek God. It’s hard at first, but when you get used to looking only to Him it really does get easier. Trust me on that one. 🙂

I hope this encourages you today!

Would you like to SHARE A TIME IN YOUR LIFE when times were tough and you found God’s promises to be helpful and true?

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HI! MY NAME IS DENISSE. I’M SO GLAD YOU FOUND ME!

I am married to my wonderful high school sweetheart, Ian, and we have the best three kids in the world. I write about my kids, my husband, my crafts, and my God. I drink too much coffee and take too many naps.